Israel, The Soundtrack Of My Life - review - Okuden | Walerian Shipp Parker Drake - by Adam Baruch

"... archetypal example of a metaphysical conversation between experienced musicians … perfect coherence and mutual respect …remarkable calmness and ease, without any compromise..."

"... definitely the strongest and most mature statement by Walerian so far ... brings on a true satisfaction to see a Polish Jazz musician perform with esteemed American partners without any inferiority complex. It must be said that as far as Shipp, Parker and Drake are concerned, this is also some of the best work they recorded..."

"... recommended to all listeners of Free Spirited Jazz music anywhere … which will be rewarded by a couple of hours of highly aesthetic and spiritual experience."

This is the fourth album by Polish (resident in NY) Jazz multi-instrumentalist / composer Mat Walerian, released by the reanimated legendary NY ESP label. The lineup, under the Okuden moniker, is expanded to a quartet and includes all three musicians who took part in the three previous recordings: pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake – icons of the American Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene. The 2CD album presents six (one a three-part piece) original compositions, all by Walerian.

The music, recorded during one session, is an archetypal example of a metaphysical conversation between experienced musicians, which moves freely from subject to subject, in perfect coherence and mutual respect. Although Walerian sets the tone and direction, ever so gently, moving between the saxophone, clarinets and flute, the rest of the quartet follows suit fluidly and the musicians add their input to the conversation with elegance and remarkable aptitude.

Despite the “usual” aggressive atmosphere associated with Improvised Music, this recording offers a completely calm and orderly fashion of mutual exchange and development of ideas, relaxed cooperation and as strange as it might sound results in “pleasant” aural vistas, certainly not what one would expect from these musicians. Walerian proves to be not only an excellent catalyst, but also an anodyne. As a result, the music offers a remarkable calmness and ease, without any compromise whatsoever of the complexity and quality of the music.

Overall this is definitely the strongest and most mature statement by Walerian so far and brings on a true satisfaction to see a Polish Jazz musician perform with esteemed American partners without any inferiority complex. It must be said that as far as Shipp, Parker and Drake are concerned, this is also some of the best work they recorded, and they all have an extensive recording legacy to their credit.

In many respects this album is much better and more interesting than many Free Jazz / Improvising Music albums released in Poland lately, where this idiom seems to be lost wondering in the desert and devoid of clear musical / spiritual leadership, with many of the original Avant-Gardists being no longer with us.

This album is warmly recommended to all listeners of Free Spirited Jazz music anywhere and definitely worth the effort of searching out a copy, which will be rewarded by a couple of hours of highly aesthetic and spiritual experience.

read full review here :

http://www.adambaruch.com/reviews_item.asp?item=106607

Thanks so Adam Baruch for your words! Szmanda / Nubiola / Mazurkiewicz – “Ten Plagues” This is the debut album by a trio consisting of Cuban (resident in Poland) saxophonist Luis Nubiola and Polish bassist Jacek Mazurkiewicz and drummer Krzysztof Szmanda. Percussionist Philip South guests on a couple of tracks. The album present five original pieces co-credited to the participating musicians. The very short total playing time (under half an hour) makes this an EP rather than a full album. Nubiola, who is usually associated with Cuban / Latin Jazz, fits perfectly with the two veteran improvisers, creating an interesting series of spontaneous free pieces, which sound natural. His wonderfully worm saxophone tone is a nice twist, and manages to create just the right kind of interplay with the rhythm section. The music is completely improvised, but has a strict melodic sub context, which makes it easily accessible to a wide range of listeners. It is also quite minimalist and subdued, which creates a delicate, emotional mood. All three musicians play wonderfully, being veterans of the trade, and the intimate setting enables their individual contributions to be heard clearly. Overall this sounds like a friendly experiment, which hopefully will lead to a bona fide full album soon. In the meantime we can enjoy this short foreteller and wait for the next one. http://www.adambaruch.com/reviews_item.asp?item=106401 #AdamBaruch #RecordReviews #MusicCriticism #Jazz #PolishJazz #CubanJazz #ImprovisedMusic https://www.instagram.com/p/CDRcKW3HnXI/?igshid=1uqng2g4evve3

Adam Baruch - The Soundtrack Of My Life - review - Toxic | Mat Walerian Matthew Shipp William Parker

"This is Improvised Music at its best, which can be listened to time and time again, every time with new discoveries at hand. I have actually listened to this music three times in a row, each time concentrating my attention on one player, and only later listened to it as a whole; quite a journey of discovery it was."

"Walerian seems to have found a niche on the NY avant-garde scene, where he is respected by fellow American musicians... "

"... great to have a Polish expatriate at the heart of the NY avant-garde scene and I hope more Polish musicians will follow in that direction, not only to learn, but perhaps even more importantly to teach other musicians what avant-garde really means."

"His obvious talents and diverse musical facets... allow him to create minimalistic introvert music, which is rich in its sound palette and emotional scale, like very few other contemporary avant-garde projects... always beautifully focused and intrinsically melodic... develop a very tight interaction with his listeners, being completely nonaggressive and always profoundly focused. "

"The level of interplay between the trio members is phenomenal and they often function like one body / one mind in spite of their individual personalities... Walerian plays fluently, as always, with great technical skill on all the instruments, but more importantly he is able to create a constant musical plane, which is then stretched and supported by his cohorts."

This is the third album by Polish (resident in NY) Jazz multi-instrumentalist / composer Mat Walerian, released by the reanimated legendary NY ESP label. As on both previous recordings, he is in the great company of pianist / composer Matthew Shipp and for the first time also the legendary avant-garde bassist William Parker. The trio chose the Toxic moniker for this album, which presents five original compositions, two by Walerian, two co-composed by all three trio members and one co-composed by Walerian and Parker.

Walerian seems to have found a niche on the NY avant-garde scene, where he is respected by fellow American musicians, who take part in his projects. His obvious talents and diverse musical facets, which Walerian presents while playing an array of instruments, allow him to create minimalistic introvert music, which is rich in its sound palette and emotional scale, like very few other contemporary avant-garde projects. Whether he plays flute, clarinets or saxophone, Walerian is always beautifully focused and intrinsically melodic, which enables him to develop a very tight interaction with his listeners, being completely nonaggressive and always profoundly focused.

From the first notes on this album, which starts with a flute / shakuhachi (played by Parker) duet, the meditative nature of the music is set forward, and although later on it does become more expressive and emotional, it stays within the same frame of mind. The album features a constantly changing lineup of solo, duo and trio parts, which follow each other naturally as the music develops. Although the music does not follow concrete melody lines as such, the improvisations are full of melody fragments, spontaneously created on the fly.

The level of interplay between the trio members is phenomenal and they often function like one body / one mind in spite of their individual personalities. All three musicians get plenty of opportunity to solo extensively, but it is the communal effort, which is truly the focus of this music. Walerian plays fluently, as always, with great technical skill on all the instruments, but more importantly he is able to create a constant musical plane, which is then stretched and supported by his cohorts.

This is Improvised Music at its best, which can be listened to time and time again, every time with new discoveries at hand. I have actually listened to this music three times in a row, each time concentrating my attention on one player, and only later listened to it as a whole; quite a journey of discovery it was.

It is great to have a Polish expatriate at the heart of the NY avant-garde scene and I hope more Polish musicians will follow in that direction, not only to learn, but perhaps even more importantly to teach other musicians what avant-garde really means.

This is definitely another triumphant achievement by Walerian and his partners. Both Shipp and Parker have of course prolific careers of their own, but hopefully they will find time in the future to rejoin Walerian in another project. As usual, I am already waiting for more!

read full review here :

http://www.adambaruch.com/reviews_item.asp?item=105478